


Expensive Love

by rndmcrpydnt



Category: Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:55:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25923958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rndmcrpydnt/pseuds/rndmcrpydnt
Summary: "Mahal."Ukyo just wants to know why Ryusui loves saying the word 'expensive' in a different language so much.
Relationships: Nanami Ryuusui/Saionji Ukyou
Comments: 10
Kudos: 69





	Expensive Love

" _Mahal_ ." 

The first time he ever heard Ryusui utter the two syllables, he wasn't really paying attention. "What? Sorry, I didn't get that."   
  
" _Mahal_ ," he repeated, staying silent and never delving deeper into what he just said. Ukyo had wanted to ask him what exactly it was he meant by that word that sounded so foreign that it was like they were talking underwater but the man departed before he could even respond.   
  
Ukyo just stared at the retreating figure growing farther and farther away as the captain approached the frame of what would be a ship.   
  
" _Mahal_ ."   
  
The third time Ryusui said it, Ukyo finally was able to hear it with such clarity he wondered how it had managed to sound so garbled the first two times.   
  
"Like, the Taj Mahal in India?" He had asked. Ryusui barked out a laugh at that but he didn't respond.   
  
Ukyo just watched the wind play with the locks of golden hair and revelled in the faraway glance of bright eyes staring out at the open sea.   
  
" _Mahal_ ."   
  
The fourth time he heard it, Senku had the Medusa in his victorious grasp and they celebrated their triumph that night. Ukyo didn't ask. He didn't open his mouth to speak nor did he even let a sone of noise escape from his lips. He knew Ryusui wouldn't answer his question anyway.   
  
" _Mahal_ ," Ukyo whispered to himself in wonder as he looked up to the starry sky in solitude after escaping the crowd to take a breather. The tip of his tongue stayed pressed against the back of his front teeth even when he was no longer enunciating the last letter of the word.   
  
He repeated the word, connecting constellations he knew by heart in his head, and then downed the cup of alcohol in his hand.   
  
"Would any of you happen to know what he means by it?"   
  
It was Gen who spoke first, "I don't know. Perhaps he's referring to the Taj Mahal? Maybe he had family visiting the place when we were all petrified?"   
  
"That was what I asked him at first but he just laughed and didn't talk anymore."   
  
"If I remember correctly," Tsukasa trailed off, closing his eyes as if to concentrate on diving into the depths of his mind to get ahold of whatever information it was he was looking for. "The Taj Mahal means 'Place of the Crown' or something similar and was built by the emperor for his wife. I'm not sure but maybe he's trying to make a connection of some sort?"   
  
"Why would he say any of that though?" Chrome, who wasn't entirely sure he understood what this Taj Mahal place they were talking about but would still like to be involved, asked.   
  
"I'm sure it's simpler than that," Senku remarked, finally looking up from the small-scale project he was working on. "Ryusui's not the type of guy to make vague references for nothing."   
  
"Well, what do you think he means, dear Senku?" Gen challenged.   
  
"Expensive," he answered without skipping a beat. "If Ukyo heard it correctly, ' _mahal_ ' means 'expensive' in Indonesian, Malay, and Filipino."   
  
"Well, some people have a habit of saying a word in certain situations," Gen shared. "Under what circumstances have you heard him say it?"   
  
"The first time was when we were watching the Perseus get built. Then he said it again when we went on our first voyage to Treasure Island and he was looking at the sea. Last time he said it was during the party after we got the Medusa."   
  
"See!" Senku interjected. "A ship, the sea, a party, they're all parts of his luxurious pre-petrification lifestyle."   
  
"But why would he be saying it in another language?" Chrome questioned further.   
  
"It's Ryusui," Tsukasa deadpanned. "Need I say more?"   
  
"Fair enough," Ukyo snorted. “It just sounds so familiar though. I feel like I've heard it before.”   
  
" _Mahal_ ."   
  
There it was again.   
  
"How often did you go to casinos and bars?” he asked, thinking that Ryusui was referring to the poker game they just finished and the newly opened bar where Francois was serving drinks. However, this was different. The way Ryusui said it was much more stable and neutral compared to the past times the word was spoken. He sounded so much more sure, whereas in the previous instances, the word sounded like a question and not a remark.

“Ukyo,” for the first time of ever uttering that word around him for so much time, Ryusui was looking at and speaking directly at him with pink dusted cheeks. “Ukyo, _mahal kita._ ”

_‘Kita?’_

“Ah,” he smiled nervously, getting slightly irritated by the way the other sounded like he expected him to actually _know_ what he was saying. “Kita, like, north?”

_‘Expensive north? Or did ‘kita' mean something in those Southeast Asian languages as well?’_

“No, Ukyo, _mahal kita._ I love you.”

Ukyo learned that _mahal_ meant both expensive and love, and somehow he thought that the word suited Ryusui just right.


End file.
